1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to an absorbent urine detecting device for training dogs or other domesticated animals.
2. Description of Prior Art
Many people experience problems training young dogs to be housebroken. The training period is a trying time for both owners and the animals. To train an animal efficiently requires reinforcing the animal (negatively or positively) when the behavior is occurring. The longer the period between the behavior and the reinforcement, the more difficult it is for the animal to learn the desired behavior. To train an animal not to urinate inside a house, requires catching the animal in the act, negatively reinforcing it, and immediately taking it to an area where it may safely discharge. To catch the animal in the act of urinating is a time consuming process. The reward for failure at best is a mess to clean up and at worst ruined furniture or carpeting. The stains and lingering unpleasant odors are very difficult to remove. An animal that finds it can successfully discharge in an unacceptable area, even occasionally, becomes more difficult to train. They learn to avoid urinating around people but sneak off by themselves to urinate wherever they please. One can only guess how many thousands of yards of carpeting are disposed of in landfills because of this problem. This device has helped correct this type of behavior.
Many previous devices have been designed to attempt to prevent damage from animals that are not properly housebroken. U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,525 describes a control device with an absorbent pad for urine excreted by the animal wearing the device. U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,949 involves a diaper for a dog or other small quadruped. U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,991 describes a small animal protective garment for collecting body fluids. These and many other diaper like designs try to control the damage but do not offer any help in training the animal. The present invention not only prevents damage but sounds an alarm when urine is detected.